Well, I don't have a home business but am working on Real Estate, which I do most of the training at home. I have a broker in which I work with, and the way we contact most of the clients face-to-face and sometimes on the phone. However, if we contact the clients or vice versa by e-mail, I have to keep a copy of every single e-mail that we write back and forth, which then we will keep all those e-mails and use them later if any problem occurs. I happen to notice that direct contact is much better that way, which isn't done by e-mail.

I'm running a small business selling women's shoes and jewellery. I've changed the settings to target mostly teenagers and young adults. I also include a lot of free giveaways and that attracts a lot of attention.

i agree with caveman free giveaways will definitely draw a lot of attention.

Maybe I'm just impatient, but I'm beginning to wonder if on-line advertising works at all with my market. (I'm a content/copy writer.)

I have Facebook, Twitter and Google ads running right now ... so far getting decent engagement, but no one has contacted me! Sheesh.

How do I stand out amongst the other writers?

My biggest source for new visitors to my website right now is social media; facebook, twitter, youtube etc. Even though I've only really been working with facebook, haven't gave much other sites a lot of time.

Since you're a content/copywriter you should have no problem finding new clients. Website owners are always looking for new content and they're willing to pay good money if you're a good writer. Try advertising on Fiverr and internet marketing forums. I'm pretty sure there are websites specifically made for writers to sell their work also, iWriter and oDesk I think are two of them.

I work as a freelance writer so most of my clients I look for them online. In most cases I check out freelance working sites such as oDesk among others to find new clients. At first they will pay low but after I have proved I have the skills they want, the pay is increased.

Facebook and other social media are great starters, but I agree that word of mouth is still a tried-and-true method of marketing yourself and getting new clients. I have started a cupcake business out of my home within the last month, and I made a website and shared it on Facebook. I saw friends and family share it with friends of friends, so I'm hoping this will reach even more eyes. however, I feel I need to do more with the "human touch" to get customers, especially since I do not have a storefront.

I live near several colleges, so maybe something as easy as some eye-catching fliers circulating would be a way to spread the word. I also saw on one of these Gordon Ramsey Fix-My-Restaurant type shows that he gave out free samples of the food from the restaurant to local businesses to attract new customers. People love free samples, and if people actually taste your work they are more likely to remember it and want more. I think it would be worth the cost to make a big batch of mini cupcakes and present myself to one of the big businesses in the area. Giving out free cupcakes along with my business card and information might get me even more customers in a more personalized, face-to-face way.

Almost half of my clients come from referral or word of mouth. Ive been fortunate enough to have developed strong lasting relationships with most of my previous clients and are pleased, generally speaking, with my overall performance. By developing a strong cold calling tactic and staff, I also can farm new clients relatively easily by attacking a different or unique market daily. I also have my sales staff routinely switch the services they are calling and offering in order to not gain a stale approach on the phone. I also encourage my staff to stand and smile when calling.

Social media is great, too, as facebook provides a level field with large corporations all the way down the local floral shop in your neighborhood, for example. Everyone gets out what they put into social media marketing, and if you are tenacious, integral, and smart enough in your development, it can really take your company to the top level.

I would suggest moving toward an offline marketing tactic, as well, to balance your reach out. Most people on the internet consider themselves professionals in EVERYTHING content, so it will be difficult to show you are not one of the dime per dozen "writers" that are constantly hounding the same targets. I suggest calling sources or targets directly, or better yet, having your 'assistant' or associate calling and providing them with excerpts of your previous work from your most notable clients.

people will always dismiss an email, but rarely forget a call to action.